voluntary Agreement between the crocieristiche companies for the use of fuels "greens" in the Lagoon of Venice



The mayor of Venice, Giorgio Orsoni, has manifested satisfaction for the voluntary agreement reached between the crocieristiche companies on the use of fuels "greens" until from the entrance to the mouths of port of the Lagoon of Venice. Draft - it has emphasized the first citizen - of "an important step forward: the constitution of "green zones" on all the Lagoon - it has added - is a fundamental and unavoidable dowel in order to face the topic of the great cruise ships to Venice".

The municipal administration has evidenced that, after the first agreement "Venice Blue Flag" for the safeguard of the atmosphere of the Lagoon promoted from the Municipality, the Harbour office and the Harbour Authority of Venice and undersigned already in 2007, that it previewed the special fuel use, the less polluting ones, in dock, the understanding reached in these hours with international association CLIA Europe (former European Cruise Council), that it represents the main companies from cruise, and strongly supported from mayor Orsoni, previews since uses it of fuels to "impact the zero" entrance in Lagoon.

From today the cruise ships they decide on a voluntary basis to enter in Lagoon only using the most rigid green fuel and adopting prescription for the reduction of the breakings in air. The new agreement, called "Venice Blue Flag II", it engages the navigation companies to make to work the main and auxiliary engines of the ships with fuel for marine use with not advanced sulfur tenor to 0.1% (inferior to the indications EU that recently have fixed the prohibition to 0,5%) until from the income from the mouth of long port of Lido and the marine Lagunari channels and give to the Harbour office the engagement to carry out, making use of own staff, an adapted activity of vigilance to the aim to verify the respect of the agreement. Analyses on the fuel will be guaranteed graces to a specific protocol stipulated between Harbour office, Harbour Authority and Agency of Customs.

"From the competent institutions - Orsoni has commented - we attend a clear and practicable solution, that I wish in times breviums, in order to resolve the issue of the compatibility of the passage in Basin of San Marco of the great cruise ships. But the city asked answers on the reduction for the polluting ones in the air and this second understanding allows to give us a solution to a problem that Venice has always considered priority and on which it was necessary to take part".

"It must be evidenced - it has still emphasized Orsoni - the effort, in this economic case also, of the navigation companies and in particular that of Michael Thamm, CEO of Coast, and Pierfrancesco Vago, CEO of MSC and vice-president of CLIA Europe, than in more than an occasion they have demonstrated to the maximum availability to the understanding of the topics legacies to the environmental sustainability of the industry of the cruises to Venice. A thanks must be turned to the Harbour Authority of Venice for the determining one contributed in reaching this important objective and to the offices of the Municipality of Venice and the councillorship to the Atmosphere, for their fan and fundamental job".